Another Saturday has arrived! That means it’s time for another SFF Saturday Snippet! What’s SFF Saturday? It’s a group of authors who post snippets of SFF prose and poetry for comment. You can check out other SFF Saturday posts, too.
Today is yard work day! Lots of rain means long grass and plenty of weeds. So while I’m out pushing the mower, here’s another snippet from Old Wounds for you. This is the fifteenth part. You can find the other parts here.
When we left Master Sorne, she’d given Ambrose back his flintlock pistol.
He took the weapon, but looked at it as if it were a dead fish. He’d perched himself onto a stool near the table.
“You’ll need it later, I expect,” she said.
His face twisted at that. “I’m not built for this kind of thing.” But he pocketed the pistol anyway.
His earlier actions belied that statement. Desperate men and desperate actions. “Tell me what happened.”
“I made the wrong deal with the wrong person.”
Yeah, that’s usually how these things go, huh?
Ann Laurel Kopchik 
Yup–definitely how these things usually go. I really love the first line. Very nice visual and gets the point across perfectly.
I think he’s going to have to learn to be ‘built like that’ the hard way!
Ooh! I hate making the wrong deal. Like that time I hired that guy to clean the eaves… Bad things happened that day. I’m sure Sorne can relate.
Indeed…people don’t realize how often that happens. At least the pistol was pocketed, because I figure it’s going to come in handy sooner than later.
Isn’t that always the case. Bad deals, that is… Love this snippet, it conveyed all of Ambrose’s emotions in a few lines. Already, he is a reluctant player.
I’ve liked Ambrose’s character from the start and you continued building and adding layers to him since. He and Master Sorne make an interesting pairing.
When you dance with the devil you will get burned.
The line about the dead fish was perfect, but Master Sorne is right–desperate men and desperate actions go hand in hand. But he’s had to confront where he was headed, and he’s not happy with himself.